Tutorial: How to make a purse cake

My version on how to make a purse cake is finally here! I have a few tips that I want to share before we get started. My purse cake is rather high. So it might be a little difficult to move it around once it’s placed on the cake board. If you should need to move your cake for a longer distance. I would recommend you to cut more of the cake before you begin with the crumb coat.

Also the size of the cake and cake board is optional. You can of course scale down the size if you want to make a smaller (purse) cake. If you decide to cut more of the cake. Say that you cut the round cake in two halves, you should be able to cover the cake with the white fondant in one go. So you would not need to cover the sides one at a time.

I used a gum paste brooch as decoration on my cake, but you could also decorate it with a gum paste bow instead if you like. That would look beautiful too. I hope that you can use this tutorial.

Step 1:
Take a piece of rolled fondant. Large egg size and knead it with 1 tsp of Tylo powder.

Step 2:
Roll out the fondant to a 5mm thickness. Take a ribbon cutter or a strip cutter (alternative use a knife) and cut a 9″ long and 1″ wide strip.

Step 3:
Use the cake pan that you baked the cake in to shape the handle for the purse cake. Let it dry for 1 day.

Step 4:
Roll out the rest of the “Tylo” fondant and use a large round piping tip to cut out 2 small circles. Flatten them slightly with your finger and set a side to dry a little before painting them with the gold lustre dust mixed with few drops of clear alcohol/lemon extract. When they are dry, brush them with a little bit of gold lustre dust. Set aside.

Step 5:
Take your levelled round cake and cut off about 2″ of the “bottom”. Add a thin coat of buttercream and place the small piece of cardboard at the bottom.

Step 6:
Place the cake on a piece of parchment paper and crumb coat the whole cake with buttercream. Then place the cake in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes for the buttercream to set.

Step 7:
Smooth the buttercream with the angled spatula that have been dipped in hot water. Place it in the refrigerator for about 8-10 minutes.

Step 8:
Roll out some white fondant on a lightly dusted surface to about 4mm thickness. It should be large enough to cover one side of the purse cake. Apply the fondant and smooth it with a cake smoother.

Carefully trim off any excess fondant using a sharp knife or scalpel. Repeat for the other side of the cake.Note: If the buttercream is getting a little soft. Place the cake in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Before you cover the other side of the purse cake with the rolled fondant.

Step 9:
With a ruler and a pencil. Draw a long strip on some parchment paper, Make sure that it is in the same width as the cake and that it can go all around the cake. Roll out the coloured fondant to a long strip (about 4mm thickness).

Then cut out a long strip by using the parchment paper strip as a template. Roll up the fondant and cover the middle of the cake. Trim off any excess and smooth with cake smoothers.Note: As you can see on the photos. I did not brush the fondant strip with lustre dust, As I was thinking of (I simply forgot all about it). But it is much more easy to add lustre dust before you apply the fondant to the cake. Just brush the lustre dust on the fondant with a large powder brush before you roll the fondant

Step 10:
Next cut a smaller strip of fondant, 9″ long and 1 1/2″ wide. Brush it with lustre dust and glue it on with a little Tylo glue. I would recommend that you let the cake “dry” for 1 day before you carefully place it on the cake board.

Step 11:
Place the cake on the cake board
Use a little piping gel on the cake board where you want to place the cake. Then with a little help from a large spatula lift the purse cake onto the cake board on top of the piping gel.

Step 12:
Take the handle and carefully glue it on with a little Tylo glue. Then glue on the two small golden rivets on each side of the handle.

Step 13:
Finish the purse cake with the gum paste brooch. Glue it on the strip with a little Tylo glue.Tip: Let the Tylo glue dry until it is tacky to the touch, before attaching the brooch. This will help the brooch to stay in place and NOT slide off. You can also place a little piece of Styrofoam underneath as support while it dries.

If you like you can glue on some small gum paste flowers as a little extra decoration!